Rhynchospora recognita has larger fruit and tubercles than is consistent with the varietal rank it has held under R. globularis. The two are often observed in the same locality, and in such cases, R. recognita is taller, stiffer, broader leaved, with spikelet clusters wider, denser, and bristlier, and with distinct orange tints in comparison with the darker, less dense, narrower, and less bristly spikelet clusters of plants of R. globularis.